Systems and methods for geographical ticker of health related savings account transactions

ABSTRACT

Systems and method of the present disclosure are directed to providing a geographical ticker of financial transactions. A mapping engine on a server receives a first set of transaction data within a first predetermined time window from a database that includes a monetary amount of a transaction and an entity at which each transaction. The mapping engine obtains a location of the entity for each transaction and displays, on a digital map and in a first time sequence corresponding to the first predetermined time window, an icon at each location for each transaction. The mapping engine displays, on the digital map and in one or more time sequences corresponding to one or more predetermined time windows subsequent to the first predetermined time window, an icon at each location for each transaction within one or more sets of transaction data corresponding to the one or more predetermined time windows.

FIELD OF THE DISCLOSURE

The present solution is generally directed to providing a geographicticker of financial transactions. In particular, the present solutiongenerates an icon for a flexible spending account purchase transactionthat occurred at an entity, and display the icon at a location on ageographic map.

BACKGROUND OF THE DISCLOSURE

Companies or health insurance provides may establish flexible spendingaccounts for individuals such as employees or subscribers, which mayprovide a tax advantage. The individual may transfer or allocate fundsto the flexible spending account. The individuals may purchasequalifying items at a merchant using funds in their flexible spendingaccount in order take advantage of tax savings. As individualsincreasingly utilize flexible spending accounts to make purchases atvarious merchants' locations, it may be challenging for a provider oradministrator of the flexible spending account to monitor thetransactions in order to improve aspects or benefits associated with theflexible spending account.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE DISCLOSURE

Systems and methods of the present solution are directed to providing ageographic ticker of financial transactions. In some embodiments, thepresent solution can map a dollar amount of a transaction made using taxbenefit account such as a flexible spending account (“FSA”), HealthcareSavings Account (“HSA”), Dependent Care Account (“DCA”), TransportAccount (e.g., for parking or monthly passes). A user can make thetransaction at an entity such as a merchant, pharmacy, retail store,medical supply store, or other entity that provides goods or servicesthat are deemed to be qualified expenses in accordance with the taxbenefit account. The transaction can occur via a point-of-sale terminalor device located at the merchant. The point-of-sale terminal can beconfigured to receive financial transaction information from the user(e.g., via a card swipe) and communicate with one or more servers ordatabases to authenticate the financial transaction information,identify a corresponding tax benefit account of the user, and initiateor facilitate the transfer of funds from the tax benefit account to theentity. The transaction can be associated with information such as atime stamp, entity identifier, and transaction amount. This informationcan be provided in real-time to a transaction repository.

The present solution can obtain the transaction information from arepository and plot the transaction information on a geographical map.For example, the present solution can obtain, from the transactionrepository, a set of transaction data for a set of transactions thatoccurred during a time period. The present solution can identify alocation for each transaction in the set of transactions based on anentity identifier of the transaction. Upon identifying the location, thepresent solution can generate an icon for each transaction and plot theicon on a geographic map in accordance with the identified location. Insome cases, the present solution is configured with an offset techniquethat facilitates plotting each icon on a map without obfuscating oroverlaying one icon over another icon. For example, the present solutioncan apply an offset (e.g., dynamically generated randomized offset) tothe location of each transaction and plot the offset location on themap. The icon can include additional information about the transactionor entity, such as the transaction amount, merchant name, merchantidentifier, time stamp, type of FSA, etc. The icon can be configured todisplay some or all of the additional information responsive to aninteraction with the icon such as a mouse-over, click, gesture, or voicecommand. The additional information can be displayed via a popup window,window frame, in the icon, on a portion of a display area, in a ticker,or via text to speech.

The map can be updated in real-time, on a rolling basis, or based on apredetermined time window. For example, the system can obtain a set oftransactions corresponding to the predetermined time window, normalizethe transactions over the predetermined time window, and display an iconfor each transaction of the set of transactions over a durationcorresponding to the predetermined time window. In some instances, thesystem can remove an icon after it has been on display for thepredetermined time window, and replace it with a subsequent transactionfrom a subsequent set of transactions corresponding to a subsequentpredetermined time window.

At least one aspect of the present solution is directed to a method ofproviding a geographical ticker of financial transactions. The methodcan include a mapping engine executing on a server receiving, from adatabase, a first set of transaction data. The first set of transactiondata is within a first predetermined time window and includesinformation identifying a monetary amount of a transaction and an entityat which each transaction occurred for a plurality of transactions thatoccurred during the first predetermined time window. The method caninclude the mapping engine obtaining each location of the entity foreach transaction within the first set of transaction data. The methodcan include the mapping engine displaying an icon at each location foreach transaction within the first set of transaction data. The mappingengine can display the icon at each location on a digital map in a firsttime sequence corresponding to the first predetermined time window. Themethod can include the mapping engine displaying, on the digital map andin one or more time sequences corresponding to one or more predeterminedtime windows subsequent to the first predetermined time window, an iconat each location for each transaction within one or more sets oftransaction data corresponding to the one or more predetermined timewindows.

In some embodiments, the method includes the mapping engine polling thedatabase responsive to expiration of the first predetermined timewindow. The method can include the mapping engine receiving a second setof transaction data within a second predetermined time window subsequentto the first predetermined time window. The mapping engine can receivethe second set of transaction data responsive to the polling.

In some embodiments, the method includes displaying each icon for apredetermined time period and removing each icon from the digital mapupon expiration of the predetermined time period. In some embodiments,the first set of transaction data includes information identifying themonetary amount of each transaction and the entity of each transactionmade at a corresponding plurality of point-of-sale devices using fundsfrom one or more flexible spending accounts. In some embodiments, themethod includes applying a different offset to each location for eachtransaction of the first set of transaction data. The method can includedisplaying, on the digital map, the icon at each offset location foreach transaction of the first set of transaction data.

In some embodiments, at least two transactions of the first set oftransaction data occurred via a same entity. In these embodiments, themethod can include obtaining coordinates of a location of the sameentity. The method can include applying a first offset to thecoordinates to generate a first offset location for a first transactionof the at least two transactions. The method can include applying asecond offset to the coordinates to generate a second offset locationfor a second transaction of the at least two transactions. The secondoffset location can be different from the first offset location. Themethod can include displaying, in the first time sequence correspondingto the first predetermined time window, a first icon at the first offsetlocation and a second icon at the second offset location.

In some embodiments, obtaining each location of the entity can includeobtaining coordinates of a predetermined location within a city. In someembodiments, the icon is configured to display, responsive to a triggerevent, the monetary amount of the transaction and an identifier of theentity at which the transaction occurred.

In some embodiments, the method can include the server establishing areal-time communication link with a second server interfacing with aplurality of point-of-sale devices. The second server can be configuredto receive the first set of transaction data in real-time from theplurality of point-of-sale devices. The method can include the serverreceiving the first set of transaction data responsive to the secondserver receiving the first set of transaction data from the plurality ofpoint-of-sale devices. The method can include the server storing thefirst set of transaction data in the database.

In some embodiments, the method can include displaying on or adjacent tothe digital map a running total of the monetary amount of eachtransaction of the first set of transaction data. In some embodiments,the method can include receiving, via a configuration screen, a basetotal monetary amount and a base total number of transactions. Themethod can include displaying on or adjacent to the digital map arunning total of the monetary amount of each transaction of the firstset of transaction data relative to the base total amount. The methodcan include displaying on or adjacent to the digital map a transactionnumber corresponding to the running total. The transaction number can berelative to the base total number of transactions.

Another aspect of the present solution is directed to a system thatprovides a geographical ticker of financial transactions. The system caninclude a mapping engine on a server. The system can include a databaseor be configured to access a database. The mapping engine can receive,from the database, a first set of transaction data within a firstpredetermined time window. The first set of transaction data includesinformation identifying a monetary amount of a transaction and an entityat which each transaction occurred for a plurality of transactions thatoccurred during the first predetermined time window. The mapping enginecan obtain each location of the entity for each transaction within thefirst set of transaction data. The mapping engine can display, on adigital map and in a first time sequence corresponding to the firstpredetermined time window, an icon at each location for each transactionwithin the first set of transaction data. The mapping engine candisplay, on the digital map and in one or more time sequencescorresponding to one or more predetermined time windows subsequent tothe first predetermined time window, an icon at each location for eachtransaction within one or more sets of transaction data corresponding tothe one or more predetermined time windows.

In some embodiments, the mapping engine can poll the database responsiveto the first predetermined time window ending. The mapping engine canreceive, responsive to the polling, a second set of transaction datawithin a second predetermined time window subsequent to the firstpredetermined time window. In some embodiments, the mapping engine candisplay each icon for a predetermined time period and remove each iconfrom the digital map upon expiration of the predetermined time period.

In some embodiments, the first set of transaction data includesinformation identifying the monetary amount of each transaction and theentity of each transaction made at a corresponding plurality ofpoint-of-sale devices using funds from one or more flexible spendingaccounts. In some embodiments, the mapping engine can apply a differentoffset to each location for each transaction of the first set oftransaction data. The mapping engine can display, on the digital map,the icon at each offset location for each transaction of the first setof transaction data.

In some embodiments, at least two transactions of the first set oftransaction data occurred via a same entity. In these embodiments, themapping engine can obtain coordinates of a location of the same entity.The mapping engine can apply a first offset to the coordinates togenerate a first offset location for a first transaction of the at leasttwo transactions. The mapping engine can apply a second offset to thecoordinates to generate a second offset location for a secondtransaction of the at least two transactions. The second offset locationcan be different from the first offset location. The mapping engine candisplay, in the first time sequence corresponding to the firstpredetermined time window, a first icon at the first offset location anda second icon at the second offset location.

In some embodiments, the mapping engine or server can establish areal-time communication link with a second server interfacing with aplurality of point-of-sale devices. The second server can receive thefirst set of transaction data in real-time from the plurality ofpoint-of-sale devices. The mapping engine or server can receive thefirst set of transaction data responsive to the second server receivingthe first set of transaction data from the plurality of point-of-saledevices. The mapping engine or server can store the first set oftransaction data in the database.

In some embodiments, the mapping engine can display on or adjacent tothe digital map a running total of the monetary amount of eachtransaction of the first set of transaction data. In some embodiments,the mapping engine or server can receive, via a configuration screen, abase total monetary amount and a base total number of transactions. Themapping engine can display on or adjacent to the digital map a runningtotal of the monetary amount of each transaction of the first set oftransaction data relative to the base total amount. The mapping enginecan display on or adjacent to the digital map a transaction numbercorresponding to the running total, the transaction number relative tothe base total number of transactions.

Yet another aspect is directed to a non-transitory computer readablestorage device that stores instructions that, when executed by one ormore processors, provides a geographical ticker of financialtransactions. The instructions can include instructions receive, from adatabase, a first set of transaction data within a first predeterminedtime window. The first set of transaction data includes informationidentifying a monetary amount of a transaction and an entity at whicheach transaction occurred for a plurality of transactions that occurredduring the first predetermined time window. The instructions can includeinstructions to obtain each location of the entity for each transactionwithin the first set of transaction data. The instructions can includeinstructions to display, on a digital map and in a first time sequencecorresponding to the first predetermined time window, an icon at eachlocation for each transaction within the first set of transaction data.The instructions can include instructions to display, on the digital mapand in one or more time sequences corresponding to one or morepredetermined time windows subsequent to the first predetermined timewindow, an icon at each location for each transaction within one or moresets of transaction data corresponding to the one or more predeterminedtime windows.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The foregoing and other objects, aspects, features, and advantages ofthe disclosure will become more apparent and better understood byreferring to the following description taken in conjunction with theaccompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1A is a block diagram depicting an embodiment of a networkenvironment comprising client device in communication with serverdevice;

FIG. 1B is a block diagram depicting a cloud computing environmentcomprising client device in communication with cloud service providers;

FIGS. 1C and 1D are block diagrams depicting embodiments of computingdevices useful in connection with the methods and systems describedherein.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram depicting an embodiment of a system forproviding a geographical ticker of financial transactions.

FIG. 3 is flow diagram depicting an embodiment of a method of providinga geographical ticker of financial transactions.

FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating an embodiment of a geographical ticker.

FIGS. 5A-5D are diagrams illustrating displaying icons in a timesequence in accordance with an embodiment.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

For purposes of reading the description of the various embodimentsbelow, the following descriptions of the sections of the specificationand their respective contents may be helpful:

Section A describes a network environment and computing environmentwhich may be useful for practicing embodiments described herein.

Section B describes embodiments of systems and methods for ageographical ticker.

A. Computing and Network Environment

Prior to discussing specific embodiments of the present solution, it maybe helpful to describe aspects of the operating environment as well asassociated system components (e.g., hardware elements) in connectionwith the methods and systems described herein. Referring to FIG. 1A, anembodiment of a network environment is depicted. In brief overview, thenetwork environment includes one or more clients 102 a-102 n (alsogenerally referred to as local machine(s) 102, client(s) 102, clientnode(s) 102, client machine(s) 102, client computer(s) 102, clientdevice(s) 102, endpoint(s) 102, or endpoint node(s) 102) incommunication with one or more servers 106 a-106 n (also generallyreferred to as server(s) 106, node 106, or remote machine(s) 106) viaone or more networks 104. In some embodiments, a client 102 has thecapacity to function as both a client node seeking access to resourcesprovided by a server and as a server providing access to hostedresources for other clients 102 a-102 n.

Although FIG. 1A shows a network 104 between the clients 102 and theservers 106, the clients 102 and the servers 106 may be on the samenetwork 104. In some embodiments, there are multiple networks 104between the clients 102 and the servers 106. In one of theseembodiments, a network 104′ (not shown) may be a private network and anetwork 104 may be a public network. In another of these embodiments, anetwork 104 may be a private network and a network 104′ a publicnetwork. In still another of these embodiments, networks 104 and 104′may both be private networks.

The network 104 may be connected via wired or wireless links. Wiredlinks may include Digital Subscriber Line (DSL), coaxial cable lines, oroptical fiber lines. The wireless links may include BLUETOOTH, Wi-Fi,Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access (WiMAX), an infraredchannel or satellite band. The wireless links may also include anycellular network standards used to communicate among mobile devices,including standards that qualify as 1 G, 2G, 3G, or 4G. The networkstandards may qualify as one or more generation of mobiletelecommunication standards by fulfilling a specification or standardssuch as the specifications maintained by International TelecommunicationUnion. The 3G standards, for example, may correspond to theInternational Mobile Telecommunications-2000 (IMT-2000) specification,and the 4G standards may correspond to the International MobileTelecommunications Advanced (IMT-Advanced) specification. Examples ofcellular network standards include AMPS, GSM, GPRS, UMTS, LTE, LTEAdvanced, Mobile WiMAX, and WiMAX-Advanced. Cellular network standardsmay use various channel access methods e.g. FDMA, TDMA, CDMA, or SDMA.In some embodiments, different types of data may be transmitted viadifferent links and standards. In other embodiments, the same types ofdata may be transmitted via different links and standards.

The network 104 may be any type and/or form of network. The geographicalscope of the network 104 may vary widely and the network 104 can be abody area network (BAN), a personal area network (PAN), a local-areanetwork (LAN), e.g. Intranet, a metropolitan area network (MAN), a widearea network (WAN), or the Internet. The topology of the network 104 maybe of any form and may include, e.g., any of the following:point-to-point, bus, star, ring, mesh, or tree. The network 104 may bean overlay network which is virtual and sits on top of one or morelayers of other networks 104′. The network 104 may be of any suchnetwork topology as known to those ordinarily skilled in the art capableof supporting the operations described herein. The network 104 mayutilize different techniques and layers or stacks of protocols,including, e.g., the Ethernet protocol, the internet protocol suite(TCP/IP), the ATM (Asynchronous Transfer Mode) technique, the SONET(Synchronous Optical Networking) protocol, or the SDH (SynchronousDigital Hierarchy) protocol. The TCP/IP internet protocol suite mayinclude application layer, transport layer, internet layer (including,e.g., IPv6), or the link layer. The network 104 may be a type of abroadcast network, a telecommunications network, a data communicationnetwork, or a computer network.

In some embodiments, the system may include multiple, logically-groupedservers 106. In one of these embodiments, the logical group of serversmay be referred to as a server farm 38 or a machine farm 38. In anotherof these embodiments, the servers 106 may be geographically dispersed.In other embodiments, a machine farm 38 may be administered as a singleentity. In still other embodiments, the machine farm 38 includes aplurality of machine farms 38. The servers 106 within each machine farm38 can be heterogeneous—one or more of the servers 106 or machines 106can operate according to one type of operating system platform (e.g.,WINDOWS NT, manufactured by Microsoft Corp. of Redmond, Wash.), whileone or more of the other servers 106 can operate on according to anothertype of operating system platform (e.g., Unix, Linux, or Mac OS X).

In one embodiment, servers 106 in the machine farm 38 may be stored inhigh-density rack systems, along with associated storage systems, andlocated in an enterprise data center. In this embodiment, consolidatingthe servers 106 in this way may improve system manageability, datasecurity, the physical security of the system, and system performance bylocating servers 106 and high performance storage systems on localizedhigh performance networks. Centralizing the servers 106 and storagesystems and coupling them with advanced system management tools allowsmore efficient use of server resources.

The servers 106 of each machine farm 38 do not need to be physicallyproximate to another server 106 in the same machine farm 38. Thus, thegroup of servers 106 logically grouped as a machine farm 38 may beinterconnected using a wide-area network (WAN) connection or ametropolitan-area network (MAN) connection. For example, a machine farm38 may include servers 106 physically located in different continents ordifferent regions of a continent, country, state, city, campus, or room.Data transmission speeds between servers 106 in the machine farm 38 canbe increased if the servers 106 are connected using a local-area network(LAN) connection or some form of direct connection. Additionally, aheterogeneous machine farm 38 may include one or more servers 106operating according to a type of operating system, while one or moreother servers 106 execute one or more types of hypervisors rather thanoperating systems. In these embodiments, hypervisors may be used toemulate virtual hardware, partition physical hardware, virtualizephysical hardware, and execute virtual machines that provide access tocomputing environments, allowing multiple operating systems to runconcurrently on a host computer. Native hypervisors may run directly onthe host computer. Hypervisors may include VMware ESX/ESXi, manufacturedby VMWare, Inc., of Palo Alto, Calif.; the Xen hypervisor, an opensource product whose development is overseen by Citrix Systems, Inc.;the HYPER-V hypervisors provided by Microsoft or others. Hostedhypervisors may run within an operating system on a second softwarelevel. Examples of hosted hypervisors may include VMware Workstation andVIRTUALBOX.

Management of the machine farm 38 may be de-centralized. For example,one or more servers 106 may comprise components, subsystems and modulesto support one or more management services for the machine farm 38. Inone of these embodiments, one or more servers 106 provide functionalityfor management of dynamic data, including techniques for handlingfailover, data replication, and increasing the robustness of the machinefarm 38. Each server 106 may communicate with a persistent store and, insome embodiments, with a dynamic store.

Server 106 may be a file server, application server, web server, proxyserver, appliance, network appliance, gateway, gateway server,virtualization server, deployment server, SSL VPN server, or firewall.In one embodiment, the server 106 may be referred to as a remote machineor a node. In another embodiment, a plurality of nodes 290 may be in thepath between any two communicating servers.

Referring to FIG. 1B, a cloud computing environment is depicted. A cloudcomputing environment may provide client 102 with one or more resourcesprovided by a network environment. The cloud computing environment mayinclude one or more clients 102 a-102 n, in communication with the cloud108 over one or more networks 104. Clients 102 may include, e.g., thickclients, thin clients, and zero clients. A thick client may provide atleast some functionality even when disconnected from the cloud 108 orservers 106. A thin client or a zero client may depend on the connectionto the cloud 108 or server 106 to provide functionality. A zero clientmay depend on the cloud 108 or other networks 104 or servers 106 toretrieve operating system data for the client device. The cloud 108 mayinclude back end platforms, e.g., servers 106, storage, server farms ordata centers.

The cloud 108 may be public, private, or hybrid. Public clouds mayinclude public servers 106 that are maintained by third parties to theclients 102 or the owners of the clients. The servers 106 may be locatedoff-site in remote geographical locations as disclosed above orotherwise. Public clouds may be connected to the servers 106 over apublic network. Private clouds may include private servers 106 that arephysically maintained by clients 102 or owners of clients. Privateclouds may be connected to the servers 106 over a private network 104.Hybrid clouds 108 may include both the private and public networks 104and servers 106.

The cloud 108 may also include a cloud based delivery, e.g. Software asa Service (SaaS) 110, Platform as a Service (PaaS) 112, andInfrastructure as a Service (IaaS) 114. IaaS may refer to a user rentingthe use of infrastructure resources that are needed during a specifiedtime period. IaaS providers may offer storage, networking, servers orvirtualization resources from large pools, allowing the users to quicklyscale up by accessing more resources as needed. Examples of IaaS caninclude infrastructure and services (e.g., EG-32) provided by OVHHOSTING of Montreal, Quebec, Canada, AMAZON WEB SERVICES provided byAmazon.com, Inc., of Seattle, Wash., RACKSPACE CLOUD provided byRackspace US, Inc., of San Antonio, Tex., Google Compute Engine providedby Google Inc. of Mountain View, Calif., or RIGHTSCALE provided byRightScale, Inc., of Santa Barbara, Calif. PaaS providers may offerfunctionality provided by IaaS, including, e.g., storage, networking,servers or virtualization, as well as additional resources such as,e.g., the operating system, middleware, or runtime resources. Examplesof PaaS include WINDOWS AZURE provided by Microsoft Corporation ofRedmond, Wash., Google App Engine provided by Google Inc., and HEROKUprovided by Heroku, Inc. of San Francisco, Calif. SaaS providers mayoffer the resources that PaaS provides, including storage, networking,servers, virtualization, operating system, middleware, or runtimeresources. In some embodiments, SaaS providers may offer additionalresources including, e.g., data and application resources. Examples ofSaaS include GOOGLE APPS provided by Google Inc., SALESFORCE provided bySalesforce.com Inc. of San Francisco, Calif., or OFFICE 365 provided byMicrosoft Corporation. Examples of SaaS may also include data storageproviders, e.g. DROPBOX provided by Dropbox, Inc. of San Francisco,Calif., Microsoft SKYDRIVE provided by Microsoft Corporation, GoogleDrive provided by Google Inc., or Apple ICLOUD provided by Apple Inc. ofCupertino, Calif.

Clients 102 may access IaaS resources with one or more IaaS standards,including, e.g., Amazon Elastic Compute Cloud (EC2), Open CloudComputing Interface (OCCI), Cloud Infrastructure Management Interface(CIMI), or OpenStack standards. Some IaaS standards may allow clientsaccess to resources over HTTP, and may use Representational StateTransfer (REST) protocol or Simple Object Access Protocol (SOAP).Clients 102 may access PaaS resources with different PaaS interfaces.Some PaaS interfaces use HTTP packages, standard Java APIs, JavaMailAPI, Java Data Objects (JDO), Java Persistence API (JPA), Python APIs,web integration APIs for different programming languages including,e.g., Rack for Ruby, WSGI for Python, or PSGI for Perl, or other APIsthat may be built on REST, HTTP, XML, or other protocols. Clients 102may access SaaS resources through the use of web-based user interfaces,provided by a web browser (e.g. GOOGLE CHROME, Microsoft INTERNETEXPLORER, or Mozilla Firefox provided by Mozilla Foundation of MountainView, Calif.). Clients 102 may also access SaaS resources throughsmartphone or tablet applications, including, e.g., Salesforce SalesCloud, or Google Drive app. Clients 102 may also access SaaS resourcesthrough the client operating system, including, e.g., Windows filesystem for DROPBOX.

In some embodiments, access to IaaS, PaaS, or SaaS resources may beauthenticated. For example, a server or authentication server mayauthenticate a user via security certificates, HTTPS, or API keys. APIkeys may include various encryption standards such as, e.g., AdvancedEncryption Standard (AES). Data resources may be sent over TransportLayer Security (TLS) or Secure Sockets Layer (SSL).

The client 102 and server 106 may be deployed as and/or executed on anytype and form of computing device, e.g. a computer, network device orappliance capable of communicating on any type and form of network andperforming the operations described herein. FIGS. 1C and 1D depict blockdiagrams of a computing device 100 useful for practicing an embodimentof the client 102 or a server 106. As shown in FIGS. 1C and 1D, eachcomputing device 100 includes a central processing unit 121, and a mainmemory unit 122. As shown in FIG. 1C, a computing device 100 may includea storage device 128, an installation device 116, a network interface118, an I/O controller 123, display devices 124 a-124 n, a keyboard 126and a pointing device 127, e.g. a mouse. The storage device 128 mayinclude, without limitation, an operating system, software, and asoftware of a geographical ticker system (GTS) 120. As shown in FIG. 1D,each computing device 100 may also include additional optional elements,e.g. a memory port 103, a bridge 170, one or more input/output devices130 a-130 n (generally referred to using reference numeral 130), and acache memory 140 in communication with the central processing unit 121.

The central processing unit 121 is any logic circuitry that responds toand processes instructions fetched from the main memory unit 122. Inmany embodiments, the central processing unit 121 is provided by amicroprocessor unit, e.g.: those manufactured by Intel Corporation ofMountain View, Calif.; those manufactured by Motorola Corporation ofSchaumburg, Ill.; the ARM processor and TEGRA system on a chip (SoC)manufactured by Nvidia of Santa Clara, Calif.; the POWER7 processor,those manufactured by International Business Machines of White Plains,N.Y.; or those manufactured by Advanced Micro Devices of Sunnyvale,Calif. The computing device 100 may be based on any of these processors,or any other processor capable of operating as described herein. Thecentral processing unit 121 may utilize instruction level parallelism,thread level parallelism, different levels of cache, and multi-coreprocessors. A multi-core processor may include two or more processingunits on a single computing component. Examples of multi-core processorsinclude the AMD PHENOM IIX2, INTEL CORE i5 and INTEL CORE i7.

Main memory unit 122 may include one or more memory chips capable ofstoring data and allowing any storage location to be directly accessedby the microprocessor 121. Main memory unit 122 may be volatile andfaster than storage 128 memory. Main memory units 122 may be Dynamicrandom access memory (DRAM) or any variants, including static randomaccess memory (SRAM), Burst SRAM or SynchBurst SRAM (BSRAM), Fast PageMode DRAM (FPM DRAM), Enhanced DRAM (EDRAM), Extended Data Output RAM(EDO RAM), Extended Data Output DRAM (EDO DRAM), Burst Extended DataOutput DRAM (BEDO DRAM), Single Data Rate Synchronous DRAM (SDR SDRAM),Double Data Rate SDRAM (DDR SDRAM), Direct Rambus DRAM (DRDRAM), orExtreme Data Rate DRAM (XDR DRAM). In some embodiments, the main memory122 or the storage 128 may be non-volatile; e.g., non-volatile readaccess memory (NVRAM), flash memory non-volatile static RAM (nvSRAM),Ferroelectric RAM (FeRAM), Magnetoresistive RAM (MRAM), Phase-changememory (PRAM), conductive-bridging RAM (CBRAM),Silicon-Oxide-Nitride-Oxide-Silicon (SONOS), Resistive RAM (RRAM),Racetrack, Nano-RAM (NRAM), or Millipede memory. The main memory 122 maybe based on any of the above described memory chips, or any otheravailable memory chips capable of operating as described herein. In theembodiment shown in FIG. 1C, the processor 121 communicates with mainmemory 122 via a system bus 150 (described in more detail below). FIG.1D depicts an embodiment of a computing device 100 in which theprocessor communicates directly with main memory 122 via a memory port103. For example, in FIG. 1D the main memory 122 may be DRDRAM.

FIG. 1D depicts an embodiment in which the main processor 121communicates directly with cache memory 140 via a secondary bus,sometimes referred to as a backside bus. In other embodiments, the mainprocessor 121 communicates with cache memory 140 using the system bus150. Cache memory 140 typically has a faster response time than mainmemory 122 and is typically provided by SRAM, BSRAM, or EDRAM. In theembodiment shown in FIG. 1D, the processor 121 communicates with variousI/O devices 130 via a local system bus 150. Various buses may be used toconnect the central processing unit 121 to any of the I/O devices 130,including a PCI bus, a PCI-X bus, or a PCI-Express bus, or a NuBus. Forembodiments in which the I/O device is a video display 124, theprocessor 121 may use an Advanced Graphics Port (AGP) to communicatewith the display 124 or the I/O controller 123 for the display 124. FIG.1D depicts an embodiment of a computer 100 in which the main processor121 communicates directly with I/O device 130 b or other processors 121′via HYPERTRANSPORT, RAPIDIO, or INFINIBAND communications technology.FIG. 1D also depicts an embodiment in which local busses and directcommunication are mixed: the processor 121 communicates with I/O device130 a using a local interconnect bus while communicating with I/O device130 b directly.

A wide variety of I/O devices 130 a-130 n may be present in thecomputing device 100. Input devices may include keyboards, mice,trackpads, trackballs, touchpads, touch mice, multi-touch touchpads andtouch mice, microphones, multi-array microphones, drawing tablets,cameras, single-lens reflex camera (SLR), digital SLR (DSLR), CMOSsensors, accelerometers, infrared optical sensors, pressure sensors,magnetometer sensors, angular rate sensors, depth sensors, proximitysensors, ambient light sensors, gyroscopic sensors, or other sensors.Output devices may include video displays, graphical displays, speakers,headphones, inkjet printers, laser printers, and 3D printers.

Devices 130 a-130 n may include a combination of multiple input oroutput devices, including, e.g., Microsoft KINECT, Nintendo Wiimote forthe WII, Nintendo WII U GAMEPAD, or Apple IPHONE. Some devices 130 a-130n allow gesture recognition inputs through combining some of the inputsand outputs. Some devices 130 a-130 n provides for facial recognitionwhich may be utilized as an input for different purposes includingauthentication and other commands. Some devices 130 a-130 n provides forvoice recognition and inputs, including, e.g., Microsoft KINECT, SIRIfor IPHONE by Apple, Google Now or Google Voice Search.

Additional devices 130 a-130 n have both input and output capabilities,including, e.g., haptic feedback devices, touchscreen displays, ormulti-touch displays. Touchscreen, multi-touch displays, touchpads,touch mice, or other touch sensing devices may use differenttechnologies to sense touch, including, e.g., capacitive, surfacecapacitive, projected capacitive touch (PCT), in-cell capacitive,resistive, infrared, waveguide, dispersive signal touch (DST), in-celloptical, surface acoustic wave (SAW), bending wave touch (BWT), orforce-based sensing technologies. Some multi-touch devices may allow twoor more contact points with the surface, allowing advanced functionalityincluding, e.g., pinch, spread, rotate, scroll, or other gestures. Sometouchscreen devices, including, e.g., Microsoft PIXELSENSE orMulti-Touch Collaboration Wall, may have larger surfaces, such as on atable-top or on a wall, and may also interact with other electronicdevices. Some I/O devices 130 a-130 n, display devices 124 a-124 n orgroup of devices may be augment reality devices. The I/O devices may becontrolled by an I/O controller 123 as shown in FIG. 1C. The I/Ocontroller may control one or more I/O devices, such as, e.g., akeyboard 126 and a pointing device 127, e.g., a mouse or optical pen.Furthermore, an I/O device may also provide storage and/or aninstallation medium 116 for the computing device 100. In still otherembodiments, the computing device 100 may provide USB connections (notshown) to receive handheld USB storage devices. In further embodiments,an I/O device 130 may be a bridge between the system bus 150 and anexternal communication bus, e.g. a USB bus, a SCSI bus, a FireWire bus,an Ethernet bus, a Gigabit Ethernet bus, a Fibre Channel bus, or aThunderbolt bus.

In some embodiments, display devices 124 a-124 n may be connected to I/Ocontroller 123. Display devices may include, e.g., liquid crystaldisplays (LCD), thin film transistor LCD (TFT-LCD), blue phase LCD,electronic papers (e-ink) displays, flexile displays, light emittingdiode displays (LED), digital light processing (DLP) displays, liquidcrystal on silicon (LCOS) displays, organic light-emitting diode (OLED)displays, active-matrix organic light-emitting diode (AMOLED) displays,liquid crystal laser displays, time-multiplexed optical shutter (TMOS)displays, or 3D displays. Examples of 3D displays may use, e.g.stereoscopy, polarization filters, active shutters, or autostereoscopy.Display devices 124 a-124 n may also be a head-mounted display (HMD). Insome embodiments, display devices 124 a-124 n or the corresponding I/Ocontrollers 123 may be controlled through or have hardware support forOPENGL or DIRECTX API or other graphics libraries.

In some embodiments, the computing device 100 may include or connect tomultiple display devices 124 a-124 n, which each may be of the same ordifferent type and/or form. As such, any of the I/O devices 130 a-130 nand/or the I/O controller 123 may include any type and/or form ofsuitable hardware, software, or combination of hardware and software tosupport, enable or provide for the connection and use of multipledisplay devices 124 a-124 n by the computing device 100. For example,the computing device 100 may include any type and/or form of videoadapter, video card, driver, and/or library to interface, communicate,connect or otherwise use the display devices 124 a-124 n. In oneembodiment, a video adapter may include multiple connectors to interfaceto multiple display devices 124 a-124 n. In other embodiments, thecomputing device 100 may include multiple video adapters, with eachvideo adapter connected to one or more of the display devices 124 a-124n. In some embodiments, any portion of the operating system of thecomputing device 100 may be configured for using multiple displays 124a-124 n. In other embodiments, one or more of the display devices 124a-124 n may be provided by one or more other computing devices 100 a or100 b connected to the computing device 100, via the network 104. Insome embodiments software may be designed and constructed to use anothercomputer's display device as a second display device 124 a for thecomputing device 100. For example, in one embodiment, an Apple iPad mayconnect to a computing device 100 and use the display of the device 100as an additional display screen that may be used as an extended desktop.One ordinarily skilled in the art will recognize and appreciate thevarious ways and embodiments that a computing device 100 may beconfigured to have multiple display devices 124 a-124 n.

Referring again to FIG. 1C, the computing device 100 may comprise astorage device 128 (e.g. one or more hard disk drives or redundantarrays of independent disks) for storing an operating system or otherrelated software, and for storing application software programs such asany program related to the software 120 for the geographical tickersystem. Examples of storage device 128 include, e.g., hard disk drive(HDD); optical drive including CD drive, DVD drive, or BLU-RAY drive;solid-state drive (SSD); USB flash drive; or any other device suitablefor storing data. Some storage devices may include multiple volatile andnon-volatile memories, including, e.g., solid state hybrid drives thatcombine hard disks with solid state cache. Some storage device 128 maybe non-volatile, mutable, or read-only. Some storage device 128 may beinternal and connect to the computing device 100 via a bus 150. Somestorage device 128 may be external and connect to the computing device100 via a I/O device 130 that provides an external bus. Some storagedevice 128 may connect to the computing device 100 via the networkinterface 118 over a network 104, including, e.g., the Remote Disk forMACBOOK AIR by Apple. Some client devices 100 may not require anon-volatile storage device 128 and may be thin clients or zero clients102. Some storage device 128 may also be used as an installation device116, and may be suitable for installing software and programs.Additionally, the operating system and the software can be run from abootable medium, for example, a bootable CD, e.g. KNOPPIX, a bootable CDfor GNU/Linux that is available as a GNU/Linux distribution fromknoppix.net.

Client device 100 may also install software or application from anapplication distribution platform. Examples of application distributionplatforms include the App Store for iOS provided by Apple, Inc., the MacApp Store provided by Apple, Inc., GOOGLE PLAY for Android OS providedby Google Inc., Chrome Webstore for CHROME OS provided by Google Inc.,and Amazon Appstore for Android OS and KINDLE FIRE provided byAmazon.com, Inc. An application distribution platform may facilitateinstallation of software on a client device 102. An applicationdistribution platform may include a repository of applications on aserver 106 or a cloud 108, which the clients 102 a-102 n may access overa network 104. An application distribution platform may includeapplication developed and provided by various developers. A user of aclient device 102 may select, purchase and/or download an applicationvia the application distribution platform.

Furthermore, the computing device 100 may include a network interface118 to interface to the network 104 through a variety of connectionsincluding, but not limited to, standard telephone lines LAN or WAN links(e.g., 802.11, T1, T3, Gigabit Ethernet, Infiniband), broadbandconnections (e.g., ISDN, Frame Relay, ATM, Gigabit Ethernet,Ethernet-over-SONET, ADSL, VDSL, BPON, GPON, fiber optical includingFiOS), wireless connections, or some combination of any or all of theabove. Connections can be established using a variety of communicationprotocols (e.g., TCP/IP, Ethernet, ARCNET, SONET, SDH, Fiber DistributedData Interface (FDDI), IEEE 802.11a/b/g/n/ac CDMA, GSM, WiMax and directasynchronous connections). In one embodiment, the computing device 100communicates with other computing devices 100′ via any type and/or formof gateway or tunneling protocol e.g. Secure Socket Layer (SSL) orTransport Layer Security (TLS), or the Citrix Gateway Protocolmanufactured by Citrix Systems, Inc. of Ft. Lauderdale, Fla. The networkinterface 118 may comprise a built-in network adapter, network interfacecard, PCMCIA network card, EXPRESSCARD network card, card bus networkadapter, wireless network adapter, USB network adapter, modem or anyother device suitable for interfacing the computing device 100 to anytype of network capable of communication and performing the operationsdescribed herein.

A computing device 100 of the sort depicted in FIGS. 1B and 1C mayoperate under the control of an operating system, which controlsscheduling of tasks and access to system resources. The computing device100 can be running any operating system such as any of the versions ofthe MICROSOFT WINDOWS operating systems, the different releases of theUnix and Linux operating systems, any version of the MAC OS forMacintosh computers, any embedded operating system, any real-timeoperating system, any open source operating system, any proprietaryoperating system, any operating systems for mobile computing devices, orany other operating system capable of running on the computing deviceand performing the operations described herein. Typical operatingsystems include, but are not limited to: WINDOWS 2000, WINDOWS Server2012, WINDOWS CE, WINDOWS Phone, WINDOWS XP, WINDOWS VISTA, and WINDOWS7, WINDOWS RT, and WINDOWS 8 all of which are manufactured by MicrosoftCorporation of Redmond, Wash.; MAC OS and iOS, manufactured by Apple,Inc. of Cupertino, Calif.; and Linux, a freely-available operatingsystem, e.g. Linux Mint distribution (“distro”) or Ubuntu, distributedby Canonical Ltd. of London, United Kingdom; or Unix or other Unix-likederivative operating systems; and Android, designed by Google, ofMountain View, Calif., among others. Some operating systems, including,e.g., the CHROME OS by Google, may be used on zero clients or thinclients, including, e.g., CHROMEBOOKS.

The computer system 100 can be any workstation, telephone, desktopcomputer, laptop or notebook computer, netbook, ULTRABOOK, tablet,server, handheld computer, mobile telephone, smartphone or otherportable telecommunications device, media playing device, a gamingsystem, mobile computing device, or any other type and/or form ofcomputing, telecommunications or media device that is capable ofcommunication. The computer system 100 has sufficient processor powerand memory capacity to perform the operations described herein. In someembodiments, the computing device 100 may have different processors,operating systems, and input devices consistent with the device. TheSamsung GALAXY smartphones, e.g., operate under the control of Androidoperating system developed by Google, Inc. GALAXY smartphones receiveinput via a touch interface.

In some embodiments, the computing device 100 is a gaming system. Forexample, the computer system 100 may comprise a PLAYSTATION 3, orPERSONAL PLAYSTATION PORTABLE (PSP), or a PLAYSTATION VITA devicemanufactured by the Sony Corporation of Tokyo, Japan, a NINTENDO DS,NINTENDO 3DS, NINTENDO WII, or a NINTENDO WII U device manufactured byNintendo Co., Ltd., of Kyoto, Japan, an XBOX 360 device manufactured bythe Microsoft Corporation of Redmond, Wash.

In some embodiments, the computing device 100 is a digital audio playersuch as the Apple IPOD, IPOD Touch, and IPOD NANO lines of devices,manufactured by Apple Computer of Cupertino, Calif. Some digital audioplayers may have other functionality, including, e.g., a gaming systemor any functionality made available by an application from a digitalapplication distribution platform. For example, the IPOD Touch mayaccess the Apple App Store. In some embodiments, the computing device100 is a portable media player or digital audio player supporting fileformats including, but not limited to, MP3, WAV, M4A/AAC, WMA ProtectedAAC, RIFF, Audible audiobook, Apple Lossless audio file formats and.mov, .m4v, and .mp4 MPEG-4 (H.264/MPEG-4 AVC) video file formats.

In some embodiments, the computing device 100 is a tablet e.g. the IPADline of devices by Apple; GALAXY TAB family of devices by Samsung; orKINDLE FIRE, by Amazon.com, Inc. of Seattle, Wash. In other embodiments,the computing device 100 is an eBook reader, e.g. the KINDLE family ofdevices by Amazon.com, or NOOK family of devices by Barnes & Noble, Inc.of New York City, N.Y.

In some embodiments, the communications device 102 includes acombination of devices, e.g. a smartphone combined with a digital audioplayer or portable media player. For example, one of these embodimentsis a smartphone, e.g. the IPHONE family of smartphones manufactured byApple, Inc.; a Samsung GALAXY family of smartphones manufactured bySamsung, Inc.; or a Motorola DROID family of smartphones. In yet anotherembodiment, the communications device 102 is a laptop or desktopcomputer equipped with a web browser and a microphone and speakersystem, e.g. a telephony headset. In these embodiments, thecommunications devices 102 are web-enabled and can receive and initiatephone calls. In some embodiments, a laptop or desktop computer is alsoequipped with a webcam or other video capture device that enables videochat and video call.

In some embodiments, the status of one or more machines 102, 106 in thenetwork 104 are monitored, generally as part of network management. Inone of these embodiments, the status of a machine may include anidentification of load information (e.g., the number of processes on themachine, CPU and memory utilization), of port information (e.g., thenumber of available communication ports and the port addresses), or ofsession status (e.g., the duration and type of processes, and whether aprocess is active or idle). In another of these embodiments, thisinformation may be identified by a plurality of metrics, and theplurality of metrics can be applied at least in part towards decisionsin load distribution, network traffic management, and network failurerecovery as well as any aspects of operations of the present solutiondescribed herein. Aspects of the operating environments and componentsdescribed above will become apparent in the context of the systems andmethods disclosed herein.

B. Geographical Ticker System

Systems and methods of the present solution are directed to providing ageographic ticker of financial transactions. Systems and methods of thepresent solution can provide a geographic ticker of financialtransactions made using a tax benefit account such as a flexiblespending account (“FSA”), Dependent Care Account (“DCA”), TransportAccount (e.g., for parking or monthly passes). In some embodiments, thepresent solution can map, in real-time, a dollar amount of a transactionmade at a point of sale terminal using a flexible spending account(“FSA”). A flexible spending account, or flexible spending arrangement,can refer to a tax-advantaged financial account that can be set upthrough a cafeteria plan of an employer and used to set aside a portionof earnings to pay for qualified expenses as established in thecafeteria plan. Types of FSA can include medical expense FSA, healthFSA, health savings account (HSA), health reimbursement account (HRA),health reimbursement plan (HRP), etc. Qualified expenses can include,for example, medical expenses, dependent care, dental expenses, visionexpenses, parking, monthly passes, etc. An FSA may be tax-advantagedbecause funds deducted from an employee's account and transferred to theFSA is not subject to payroll taxes, resulting in payroll tax savings.

A user can make the transaction at an entity such as a merchant,pharmacy, retail store, medical supply store, or other entity thatprovides goods or services that are deemed to be qualified expenses inaccordance with the tax benefit account or FSA. The transaction canoccur via a point-of-sale terminal or device (e.g., checkout device,electronic point of sale device or other device that includes hardwareand software to facilitate a transaction) configured to receivefinancial transaction information from the user (e.g., via a debit card,pin number, mobile payment device, near field communication-enableddevice, mobile telecommunications device) and communicate with one ormore servers or databases to authenticate the financial transactioninformation, identify a corresponding FSA of the user, and initiate orfacilitate the transfer of funds from the FSA to the entity. Thetransaction can be associated with information such as an FSA accountidentifier, time stamp, entity identifier, and transaction amount. Thisinformation can be provided in real-time to a transaction repository.

The present solution can obtain the transaction information from arepository and plot the transaction information on a geographical map.For example, the present solution can obtain, from the transactionrepository, a set of transaction data for a set of transactions thatoccurred during a time period. The present solution can identify alocation for each transaction in the set of transactions based on anentity identifier of the transaction. Upon identifying the location, thepresent solution can generate an icon for each transaction and plot theicon on a geographic map in accordance with the identified location. Insome cases, the present solution is configured with an offset techniquethat facilitates plotting each icon on a map without obfuscating oroverlaying one icon over another icon. For example, the present solutioncan apply an offset (e.g., dynamically generated randomized offset) tothe location of each transaction and plot the offset location on themap. The icon can include additional information about the transactionor entity, such as the transaction amount, merchant name, merchantidentifier, time stamp, type of FSA, etc. The icon can be configured todisplay some or all of the additional information responsive to aninteraction with the icon such as a mouse-over, click, gesture, or voicecommand. The additional information can be displayed via a popup window,window frame, in the icon, on a portion of a display area, in a ticker,or via text to speech.

The map can be updated in real-time, on a rolling basis, or based on apredetermined time window (e.g., 5 minutes, 10 minutes, 15 minutes, or apredetermined time window that falls within the range of about 1 minuteto about 30 minutes). For example, the system can obtain a set oftransactions corresponding to the predetermined time window, normalizethe transactions over the predetermined time window, and display an iconfor each transaction of the set of transactions over a durationcorresponding to the predetermined time window. In some instances, thesystem can remove an icon after it has been on display for thepredetermined time window, and replace it with a subsequent transactionfrom a subsequent set of transactions corresponding to a subsequentpredetermined time window.

Referring now to FIG. 2, a block diagram depicting an embodiment of asystem 200 comprising a geographical ticker system (GTS) is shown. Inbrief overview, the system 200 includes a geographical ticker system 120(“GTS”) that can receive and/or transmit data via a network 104 and/orlinks 208 a-n (e.g., real time network links). The system 200 mayinclude or interact with one or more clients 102 a-n (or client device102), one or more mainframes 206, and/or one or more point-of-sale (POS)terminals 202 a-n (or POS terminal 202). The GTS 120 can include a webserver 120 that provides a web page for display on a client device 102that includes the geographical ticker information. The GTS 120 caninclude a mapping engine 212 that obtains the transaction data,identifies a location for each transaction, and generates an iconcorresponding to the transaction for display on a geographical map. TheGTS 120 can include a database 214 or data structure that storesinformation to facilitate the systems and methods of the presentsolution, including, e.g., stored procedures, transaction data, andlocation information. The database 214 (or transaction repository) canobtain transaction data from a mainframe 206 via real time links 208a-n. The mainframe 206 can receive the transaction information via POSterminals 202 a-n as the transactions 204 a-n occur.

The geographical ticker system 120, web server 210, mapping engine 212,and database 214 may each include one or more processing units or otherlogic devices such as programmable logic array engines, modules, orcircuitry designed and constructed to facilitate managing security on anetwork infrastructure. The GTS 120 can include the components 100 shownin FIG. 1C or FIG. 1D, or be configured to operate as a service in cloud108. The GTS can include or interact with one or more servers 106 a-nand clients 102 a-n.

In some embodiments, the GTS 120 can employ a multitier architecturesuch as a client-server architecture in which presentation, applicationprocessing, and data management functions are logically or physicallyseparated. The presentation tier, or front-end, can include the webserver 210 that serves static content or dynamic content to be renderedby the client 102 (e.g., by a web browser executing on client 102). Thepresentation tier or web server 210 can interact or communicate with theapplication tier to obtain data to provide to the client 102. Theapplication tier can include the mapping engine 212 that controls thegeographical ticker's functionality and performs additional processingor analysis on transaction data. The application tier or mapping engine212 can interact with the data tier to obtain the transaction data. Thedata tier can include the data persistence mechanisms (database servers,file shares, etc.) and the data access layer that encapsulates thepersistence mechanisms and exposes the data. The data tier can includedatabase 214. The data tier can include an application programminginterface (API) to the application tier or mapping engine 212. Thedatabase 214 can include stored procedures (e.g., SQL statements) thatperform tasks with respect the stored data.

In further detail, and in some embodiments, the GTS 120 includes amapping engine 212. The mapping engine 212 can execute on one or moreprocessors of a server. The mapping engine 212 can receive or obtain afirst set of transaction data from the database 214. The mapping engine212 may receive this information responsive to a request to generate ageographical ticker. For example, the request may be provide by a client102 to the web server 210 via network 104. The web server 210 mayforward the request or information associated with the request tomapping engine 212. The request may include information about ageographical area, date window, time window, type of FSA, merchantidentifiers, or other criteria or parameters that may facilitategenerating a geographical ticker. In some implementations, the webserver 210 provides a configuration screen in which a user oradministrator of GTS 120 can input configuration parameters orconstraints used to filter the transaction data. For example, theparameters or constraints may be used to show icons for certainmerchants.

The mapping engine 212, using the information in the request, can querythe database 214 for transaction data. The mapping engine 212 maygenerate a query based on the information in the request. For example,the query may include a time window. The time window may include a starttime and date, and an end time and date. In some cases, the time windowmay include a start time and date, and a duration, such as 10 minutes.In some cases, the time window may indicate a time window subsequent toa previous time window with a same duration. Responsive to the query,the mapping engine 212 can receive a first set of transaction data fromdatabase 214. The first set of transaction data can include informationabout transactions that satisfy the query constraints, such astransactions that occurred during the prescribed time window, geographicarea, merchant identifiers, etc. Thus, the transaction data can includeinformation for several transactions that occurred during the timewindow. For each transaction in the transaction data, the mapping engine212 can receive information identifying a monetary amount of eachtransaction and an entity at which each transaction occurred. Themonetary amount of the transaction may refer to the amount of funds usedfrom a flexible spending account in consideration for goods or servicesobtained from the entity. The entity can refer to the entity at which apoint-of-sale terminal or device used to make the transaction is locatedor with which the terminal is associated. This information can beincluded in the first set of transaction data.

In some embodiments, the first set of transaction data can includeadditional information about each transaction. The additionalinformation can include, for example, an FSA account type, a settlementdate of the transaction, a deposit amount made into the FSA account bythe employee, an employee's preauthorized balanced, a prefunded amount(e.g., $100/month FSA=$12000 prefunded amount available on January 1), amerchant identifier (e.g., a unique identifier including numbers andletters), a merchant name (e.g., Town A Pharmacy), an adjudication code(e.g., the Internal Revenue Service's view on the transaction), settledcode (e.g., status of the transaction, e.g., preauthorized, postauthorized, pending, etc.), transaction amount (e.g., in monetarycurrency such as United States dollars or other currency), transactionadjudication details (e.g., approved, receipt pending, denied, etc.),transaction time and date (e.g., when transaction occurred), entity zipcode, transaction adjudication date, etc.

The mapping engine 212 can use the information in the first set oftransaction data to identify or obtain a location of each transaction.In some embodiments, the transaction data includes a town and statecorresponding to where the transaction occurred. The mapping engine 212can perform a lookup in a database using the town and state informationto identify geographical coordinates (e.g., latitude and longitude) forthe transaction. These geographical coordinates may correspond to apredetermined location in the town and state, such as a town center. Insome embodiments, the mapping engine 212 can identify a correspondingmerchant identifier for each transaction, and perform a lookup in adatabase to identify a zip code for the merchant. The mapping engine 212may query the database 214 to identify the location, or may query anexternal database accessible via network 104. In some embodiments, thefirst set of transaction data can include a zip code for eachtransaction, e.g., the zip code of the entity at which the transactionoccurred.

In some embodiments, the mapping engine 212 identifies a zip code ortown/city and state in which the entity is located based on the entityidentifier or entity name. The mapping engine 212 can then query anexternal database via network 104 to obtain coordinates for the city andstate of the entity. The coordinates may include latitude and longitudecoordinates. Responsive to this query, the mapping engine 212 mayreceive coordinates for a predetermined location of the city. Thepredetermined location may refer to a center of the city or town. Thecenter may refer to the town center as established by governing bodiesof the town or the residents of the town. The center may refer to ageographical center of the town. The predetermined location or centermay refer to a high density location of the town, high commercialdensity of the town, high traffic area of the town, focal point of thetown, etc.

The mapping engine 212 can generate an icon for each transaction andprovide the icon for display on a digital map, as illustrated in digitalmaps 400 and 401 shown in FIG. 4. The icon may refer to a symbol, shape,character, arrow, or other indication of a transaction. The icon mayhave attributes such as color, shape, size, opacity, translucency. Theattributes of the icon may be set to default attributes, or may selectedbased on a characteristic of the transaction the icon represents. Forexample, icon color may vary based on a transaction amount, wheretransaction amounts greater than $100 are red, transaction amountsbetween $50-100 are orange, and transaction amounts less than or equalto $50 are green. Icon color may also be set based on merchant name,merchant type, account type, etc. The icon can be configured to provideadditional information about the transaction the icon represents. Theicon can provide the additional information responsive to a triggereven, such as a user interaction with the icon, or other request forinformation. For example, the trigger event may refer to a mouse pointergoing over the icon, a finger gesture on a touch screen that interactswith the icon, a click on the icon, keeping the mouse over the icon fora time period, or some other interaction with the icon. For example,responsive to the trigger event at the icon, the icon can display anamount of the transaction and an entity identifier corresponding to theentity at which the transaction occurred.

The mapping engine 212 can identify a location for the icon and providethe icon for display at the location on the digital map that correspondsto the location of the entity at which the transaction occurred. Thislocation information can be obtained by the mapping engine in the formof latitude and longitude coordinates. The mapping engine 212, usingthese coordinates, can provide the icon for display on the digital map(e.g., a geographical vector-based map). The mapping engine 212 mayinclude or generate the digital map, or may interface with a mappingservice via network 104 using an application programming interface. Themapping service may include, e.g., BING™ maps provided by MICROSOFTCORPORATION of Redmond, Wash., which is a web mapping service thatprovides street maps, road views, aerial views, bird's-eye views, streetside, and 3D maps. The mapping service may include a collection of firstand third party application that can add additional functionality andcontent to the digital map.

In some embodiments, the GTS 120 can display icons on a digital map viaa mapping service using an API such as a Representational State Transfer(REST) interface to perform tasks such as creating a static map withicons or pushpins, geocoding an address, or retrieving imagery metadata.The REST interface may refer to an architectural style that includes acoordinate set of architectural constraints applied to components,connectors and data elements within a distributed hypermedia system.

In some embodiments, the GTS 120 can apply an offset to each locationfor each transaction in the set of transaction data. The GTS 120 mayapply this offset because displaying multiple icons at a same locationon the digital map may obfuscate or hide one or more icons at that samelocation, or make it more difficult for a user of client 102 to selector interact with an icon. Thus, by applying an offset to each locationfor each transaction, the GTS 120 can facilitate displaying andinteracting with all icons for all transactions in the first set oftransaction data.

The mapping engine 212 can apply the offset to each location of eachtransaction. The mapping engine 212 can dynamically generate a randomoffset. The offset may be a one dimensional offset (e.g., horizontaloffset, vertical offset, latitude offset, longitude offset, up offset,down offset). The offset may be a two dimensional offset (e.g.,horizontal and vertical offset, latitude and longitude offset, up anddown offset). The offset may be a pixel offset, bitmap offset, dimensionoffset, coordinate offset, distance offset, radius offset, etc. Theoffset may be generated using a random number generator. The offset maybe obtained from a table stored in the database 214 having precomputedoffset values.

The offset values may be generated based on a size of the digital mapbeing displayed on the computing device. For example, the offset maycomputed based on a resolution of the display screen of the client 102requesting the geographical ticker. For example, an offset distance maybe smaller for a display with a high resolution because it may possibleto view greater detail in a high resolution display. In another example,the offset may be computed based on the scale of the digital map (e.g.,a digital map of a single state, a region of the United States, or theentire United States).

In some embodiments, the offset may have a constant radius from thepredetermined location with a varying angle. For example, thepredetermined location may be a center point, and the offset icons mayform parts of a circle surrounding the predetermined location. Thus, themapping engine 212 may obtain predetermined or random angular offsetsfor each location.

Upon identifying an offset amount for a location, the mapping engine 212can apply the offset to the location. The mapping engine 212 can applythe offset by, e.g., calculating a coordinate or pixel location for theicon based on the offset and the retrieved location for the transaction.The mapping engine 212 can generate or identify a different offset foreach transaction, and apply the different offset to each location togenerate an offset location for each transaction. The mapping engine 212can then provide the icon for display on the digital map at the offsetlocation. For example, the mapping engine 212 may provide to a mappingservice coordinates representing the offset location and instructions todisplay the icon at that location. In another example, the mappingengine 212 receives the digital map and then displays the icon at theoffset location overlaid on the digital map.

For example, two transactions of the first set of transaction data mayhave occurred at one or more point of sale terminals located at a sameentity. The mapping engine 212 obtains coordinates of the location ofthe same entity. The mapping engine 212 generates or identifies a firstoffset and applies the first offset to the coordinates to generate afirst offset location for a first transaction of the at least twotransactions. The mapping engine 212 then generates or identifies asecond offset that is different from the first offset, and applies thesecond offset to the coordinates to generate a second offset locationfor a second transaction of the at least two transactions. The mappingengine 212 can display a first icon at the first offset location and asecond icon at the second offset location.

In some embodiments, the GTS 120 displays the icons in a time sequencecorresponding to the time window. Displaying icons in a time sequencecan refer to displaying a first subset of icons for the first set oftransaction data at a first time, and a second subset of icons of thefirst set of transaction data at a second time. The first and secondtimes can correspond to the time window of the first set of transactiondata. In some embodiments, the transactions of the first set oftransaction data are split over a duration of the time window (e.g., 10minutes) to display a subset of icons on the digital map during acorresponding display time interval. The corresponding display timeinterval may be the same as the time window, or less than or greaterthan the time window. For example, the mapping engine 212 may display 10minutes worth of transaction data in a one minute display time interval,effectively speeding up the display of the icons.

In some embodiments, the mapping engine 212 displays the first set oftransaction data in a time sequence corresponding to time window of thefirst set of transaction data. However, the icons for each transactionmay be normalized in time such that mapping engine evenly displays theicons over the time window. For example, in the first set of transactiondata, 80 transactions may have occurred in the first 4 minutes of thetime window, and 20 transactions may have occurred in the last 2 minutesof the time window, for a total of 100 transactions. In someembodiments, the mapping engine 212 may display the icons to mimicreal-time by displaying the icons in a time sequence corresponding tothe timestamps of the transactions. In some embodiments, the mappingengine 212 evenly splits up the 100 transactions such that the icons aredisplayed in a time sequence corresponding to 10 icons per minute (e.g.,number_of_transactions_in_time_interval/display_time_interval(seconds)=number_of_transaction_to_display/second).

The mapping engine 212 can display a stream of icons on the digital mapin a time sequence corresponding to the time window. After displayingicons for each transaction in the first set of transaction data, themapping engine 212 can display icons for subsequent time windows. Themapping engine 212 can obtain a second set of transaction data from thedatabase 214 that includes information about transaction that occurredin a second time window subsequent to the time window. The second,subsequent time window may have the same duration as the previous timewindow, or a different duration. The mapping engine 212 can generateicons for each transaction in the second set of transaction data anddisplay the icons in a second time sequence corresponding to the secondtime window.

In some embodiments, the mapping engine 212 can display each icon on thedigital map for a predetermined time period and then remove each iconfrom the digital map upon expiration of the predetermined time period.The predetermined time period may be a preconfigured value or may bedynamically determined based on the duration of the time window. Forexample, the predetermined time period may be a certain number ofseconds or minutes, or be set to be the same as the time window, or apercentage or fraction of the time window (e.g., half the time window, aquarter of the time window, 10% of the time window). The mapping engine212 may associate a counter or timer with the icon, and start thecounter or timer responsive to the icon being displayed. The counter ortimer (e.g., countdown timer) can be set to expire based on thepredetermined time period.

In some embodiments, one or more icons from two or more time windows orsets of transaction data may be on simultaneous display. For example, ifthe predetermined time period for a last icon in a first set oftransaction data is 1 minute, then this icon may be on display while afirst icon of a second set of transaction data is overlaid on thedigital map. In another example, if the predetermined time period is 11minutes, then the last icon in the first set of transaction data maystill be on display while a first icon of a third time windowcorresponding to a third set of transaction data is overlaid on thedigital map.

Thus, the mapping engine 212 can remove one or more icons from thedigital map. In some embodiments, the mapping engine 212 can remove theicon upon expiration of the predetermined time period. In someembodiments, the mapping engine 212 can remove the icons for a first setof transaction data prior to displaying icons from a subsequent timewindow, or prior to displaying icons from a second subsequent timewindow.

In some embodiments, the mapping engine 212 can poll the database 214based on a time interval or responsive to expiration of a time window.For example, the mapping engine 212 can poll the database 214 when atime window of a set of transaction data expires (e.g., every 10minutes). In another example, the polling period can be set by a user oradministrator of the GTS 120 via a configuration screen. Polling mayinclude pinging or otherwise communicating with the database 214 for asubsequent set of transaction data. The mapping engine 212 can query thedatabase 214 for the subsequent set of transaction data, or otherwiserequest the subsequent set of transaction data.

In some embodiments, the GTS 120 (e.g., via database 214) can establishone or more real-time communication links 208 a-n with a mainframe 206.The mainframe 206 may include a server 106 that is different from theservers of the GTS 120. For example, the mainframe 206 may refer to amainframe computer produced by INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS MACHINESCORPORATION of Armonk, N.Y., United States. The mainframe 206 may beconfigured to interface with one or more point of sale devices orterminals 202 a-n. The mainframe 206 can receive information abouttransactions 204 a-n as the transactions 204 a-n occur via the point ofsale terminals 202 a-n. Thus, the mainframe 206 can provide a front endthat hosts the point of sale terminals 202 a-n, and a separate backendserver (e.g., a server of database 214) can store the transaction datain database 214.

Each point of sale terminal 202 a-n is located at or associated with anentity. The GTS 120 can receive information about transactions 204 a-nvia mainframe 206 and the real time links 208 a-n, and then store thetransaction as transaction data in database 214. The transaction datacan be stored in a manner that facilitates generating a geographicalticker of transactions. To establish the real time links 208 a-n, theGTS 120 may be configured with credentials that facilitateauthentication and authorization to access the mainframe 206. Thecredentials may include, e.g., a username, password, token, encryption,or key, etc.

A point of same terminal 202 is the place where a retail transaction iscompleted. The POS terminal 202 is the point at which a customer of theentity or merchant makes a payment to the merchant in exchange for goodsor services. At the point of sale the merchant may calculate the amountowed by the customer and provide options for the customer to makepayment. The merchant may also issue a receipt for the transaction.

The POS terminal 202 can include hardware and software. Merchants mayutilize weighing scales, scanners, electronic and manual cash registers,EFTPOS terminals, touch screens and any other wide variety of hardwareand software available for use with POS terminal 202. For example, apharmacy can use software to customize the item or service sold when acustomer has a special medication request.

The POS terminal 202 may include advanced features to cater to differentfunctionality, such as inventory management, CRM, financials,warehousing, flexible spending account transactions, etc., all builtinto the POS software. The point of sale terminal 202 can be configuredto conduct a transactions using a debit card, Bluetooth, near fieldcommunications, smartphone, smartwatch, mobile telecommunicationscomputing device, wearable communications, RFID, etc.

As the mapping engine 212 polls the database 214 for transaction data,the database 214 stores transaction data received in real-time frompoint of sale terminals 202. Responsive to polling the database 214, themapping engine receives a set of transaction data corresponding to thetransaction data received in real-time from one or more point of saleterminals 202. The mapping engine 212 may receive the transaction datacorresponding to a subsequent time window, or otherwise filter outtransaction data from a previous time window for which icons werealready displayed. Thus, receiving the transaction data using real timelinks 208 a-n facilitates the GTS 120 displaying icons for transactionsin substantially real time.

Referring now to FIG. 3, a flow diagram depicting an embodiment of amethod of providing a geographical ticker of financial transactions isshown. The method can be performed system 200, GTS 120, or one or morecomponent thereof. In brief overview, at step 305, a mapping (e.g., amapping engine executing on one or more processors of a server of GTS120) receives a set of transaction data within a time window. At step310, the mapping engine can obtain a location for each entity of eachtransaction within the first set of transaction data. At step 315, themapping engine displays an icon on a digital map in a time sequencecorresponding to the time window. At step 320, the mapping engine candisplay an icon at a location of each transaction within a subsequentset of transaction data corresponding to one or more subsequent timewindows.

Still referring to FIG. 3, and in further detail, at step 305, a mapping(e.g., a mapping engine executing on one or more processors of a serverof GTS 120) can receive a set of transaction data within a time window.The mapping engine can receive the transaction data responsive topolling a database based on a polling period, which may be based on adesired time window of the transaction data. The transaction dataincludes information identifying a monetary amount of a transaction andan entity at which each transaction occurred for several transactionthat occurred during the time window. The transactions can refer totransactions made using a tax benefit account such as a flexiblespending account. The transaction data may include additionalinformation about the transactions, such as an FSA account type, asettlement date of the transaction, a deposit amount made into the FSAaccount by the employee, an employee's preauthorized balanced, aprefunded amount (e.g., $100/month FSA=$12000 prefunded amount availableon January 1), a merchant identifier (e.g., a unique identifierincluding numbers and letters, a code), a merchant name (e.g., Town APharmacy), an adjudication code (e.g., the Internal Revenue Service'sview on the transaction), settled code (e.g., status of the transaction,e.g., preauthorized, post authorized, pending, etc.), transaction amount(e.g., in monetary currency such as United States dollars or othercurrency), transaction adjudication details (e.g., approved, receiptpending, denied, etc.), transaction time and date (e.g., whentransaction occurred), entity town and state, entity zip code,transaction adjudication date, etc.

At step 310, the mapping engine can obtain a location for each entity ofeach transaction within the first set of transaction data. The mappingengine can obtain the location using the town and state or the zip codein the transaction data or by performing a lookup in a location databaseusing the merchant code or merchant name. The mapping engine can obtaincoordinates for the location of the entity at which the transactionoccurred, or the mapping engine may obtain coordinates for apredetermined location in a town of the entity. For example, thetransaction data may include the town and state or the zip code for thetransaction. The mapping engine may identify coordinates for the townand state or the zip code, where the coordinates are for a predeterminedlocation in the town such as a town center. In another example, themapping engine may obtain a merchant code, and perform a lookup in adatabase which returns a city and state of the merchant. The mappingengine can use the city and state information to identify coordinatesfor a predetermined location in the city, such as a center of the city.The center may be the geographical center or an otherwise establishedtown center.

At step 315, the mapping engine can display an icon on a digital map ina time sequence corresponding to the time window. The time sequence canbe for the first set of transaction data and refer to a sequence inwhich the icons for transactions are displayed. The icons may bedisplayed in chronological sequence, but they may be normalized in time.For example, rather than show the icons in real time during the timewindow, the icons can be split up evenly across the time window. Theorder of the transactions may be maintained, but the absolute timestamps may not be maintained. Thus, the mapping engine can display iconsin a time sequence as shown in FIGS. 5A-D, while maintained the order,but not in a manner synchronized with real-time. In some embodiments,the mapping engine may generate a time sequence that corresponds to thereal-time occurrence of the transactions.

In some embodiments, the mapping engine can apply a dynamic randomoffset to each location of each transaction, and display the icon at theoffset location on the digital map. The dynamic random offset can bedifferent for each transaction location, even if there is only onetransaction in at a certain location. The offset can be generated usingany technique that facilitates displaying icons at slightly differentpositions on a digital map such that a user can effectively interactwith multiple icons displayed in close proximity to one another.

At step 320, the mapping engine can display an icon at a location ofeach transaction within a subsequent set of transaction datacorresponding to one or more subsequent time windows. For example, themapping engine can poll a database to obtain a subsequent set oftransaction data. To store the transaction in the database, the databaseor server associated with the database can establish a real-timecommunication link with a second server (e.g., a mainframe) interfacingwith a plurality of point-of-sale devices. The second server can beconfigured to receive the first and subsequent sets of transaction datain real-time from the plurality of point-of-sale devices. The databasecan receive the first and subsequent sets of transaction data responsiveto the mainframe receiving the first and subsequent sets of transactiondata from the plurality of point-of-sale devices.

In some embodiments, the GTS can display additional information abouteach icon, or can display a ticker of additional information on oradjacent to the digital map. The ticker of additional information mayrun along the display in accordance with a time sequence or based onsome other time period. The ticker may update as each icon is displayedon the digital map. The ticker may update for notable events, such asfor icons that exceeds a certain transaction amount; icons fortransactions that occurred at a certain entity, or icons for numericallysignificant card swipes (e.g., every 100 card swipes).

Referring now to FIG. 4, a diagram illustrating an embodiment of ageographical ticker is shown. The digital map 400 shows five towns TownA, Town B, Town C, Town D, and Town E. Each town has a predeterminedlocation shown by respective dots 416, 416, 420, 422, and 424. Thesepredetermined locations may refer to a town center, for example. The GTS120 (e.g., via mapping engine 212) can display several icons (e.g., 402a-c, 404, 406, 408 and 410 a-c) on the digital map 400 that representtransactions. For example, the mapping engine 212 shows threetransaction 402 a, 402 b, and 402 c that are located in Town A. Each ofthese transactions may have occurred at the same entity, or at differententities of the same town. Since the different entities or merchants arelocated in the same town, and the mapping engine identifies the samepredetermined location for all transactions that occurred in a town,these three transactions may map to a same location. However, sincedisplaying three icons at the same coordinates would hide one or moreicon or make it more difficult to interact with one or more icons, themapping engine 212 applies an offset to each location for eachtransaction. The offsets are shown by offset 414 a, offset 414 b, andoffset 414 c. Each of these offsets causes each of icons 402 a-c to bedisplayed on digital map 400 at a location offset from the predeterminedlocation 416 in Town A. Thus, each if icons 402 a-c are visible and canbe interacted with by a user of a client 102.

When a user interacts with an icon, the GTS 120 can display additionalinformation about the transaction associated with the interacted icon.For example, a user may interact with icon 404 by clicking the icon 404or moving their mouse pointer over icon 404 to cause a trigger event.Responsive to this trigger event, the GTS 120 can display a pop upwindow 426 with additional information. For example, pop up window 426can include a transaction amount, merchant identifier, timestamp of whenthe transaction occurred, an adjudication status (e.g., whether thetransaction was approved as a qualifying transaction per the FSArequirements), or a remaining employee balance in the FSA account.

The GTS 120 can further display, on or adjacent to the digital map 400,additional information associated with the transaction data using aticker 412. The ticker 412 can continuously display updated information,such as a transaction amount of each new transaction that is beingdisplayed on the digital map 400 in accordance with a time sequence, atotal amount of transactions (e.g., for the set of transaction data, orrelative to a base transaction amount), and the number of card swipes ortransactions (e.g., for the set of transaction data, or relative to abase transaction number). The ticker can be synchronized with the timesequence used to display the transaction data.

In some embodiments, the GTS 120 can provide a configuration screenconfigured to receive configuration input from a client 102 oradministrator of the GTS. The configuration screen can receive inputparameters or other information that facilitates generating ageographical ticker and displaying icons on the digital map 400. Theconfiguration screen may include fields, input text boxes, drop-downmenus, buttons, or other user interface elements to allow input ofconfiguration parameters.

Configuration parameters may include, e.g., username, password,credentials, polling time period (e.g., in seconds or minutes), totalbase amount, total transaction base amount, time period for icon (e.g.,in seconds or minutes), icon style, map mode (e.g., map serviceprovider, type of view such as aerial, road view, etc.). Configurationparameters may include constraints based on the additional informationin the transaction data. These constraints may be used to filter thetransaction data to determine which transactions to display on thedigital map 400. For example, a user may filter the transaction databased on type of FSA account, merchant ID or merchant name, transactionamount, adjudicated status, merchant codes, FSA administrators, point ofsale terminal identifiers, etc. Thus, the GTS 120 may only display iconsfor transactions that satisfy the constraints.

FIGS. 5A-5D are diagrams illustrating displaying icons in a timesequence in accordance with an embodiment. The time sequence can beginin FIG. 5A with digital map 500. This time sequence may correspond to a600 second time sequence that is split up into four 150 secondintervals, where each of FIGS. 5A-5D correspond to a 150 second timeintervals 500, 501, 502 and 503.

In the first time interval 500 shown in FIG. 5A, icon 402 a and icon 406are displayed. The transaction amount is $30, the total transactionamount is 631,050 and the number of card swipes is 15,375. In the secondtime interval 501 shown in FIG. 5B, icon 402 a-b, icon 406, and icon 408are displayed. The transaction amount is $40 for the last icon displayed(e.g., 408), the total transaction amount is 631,090 and the number ofcard swipes is 15,377.

In the third time interval 502 shown in FIG. 5C, icon 402 a-c, icon 406,icon 408 and icons 410 a-b are displayed. The transaction amount is $90for the last icon displayed (e.g., 410 b), the total transaction amountis 631,900 and the number of card swipes is 15,380.

In the fourth and final time interval 503 of the first set oftransaction data shown in FIG. 5D, icon 402 b-c, icon 404, icon 408 andicons 410 a-c are displayed. The transaction amount is $30 for the lasticon displayed (e.g., 404), the total transaction amount is 632,109 andthe number of card swipes is 15,384. However, the mapping engine hasremoved icons 402 a and 406 because a time period for displaying thoseicons expired (e.g., a time period of 400 seconds).

In some embodiments, FIGS. 5A-5D may refer to a time sequence of one setof transaction data. In some embodiments, FIGS. 5B-5D may representthree sets of transaction data subsequent to a first set of transactiondisplayed in FIG. 5A.

While the invention has been particularly shown and described withreference to specific embodiments, it should be understood by thoseskilled in the art that various changes in form and detail may be madetherein without departing from the spirit and scope of the inventiondescribed in this disclosure.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method of providing a geographical ticker offinancial transactions, the method comprising: receiving, by a mappingengine executing on a server comprising at least one processor, from adatabase, a first set of transaction data within a first predeterminedtime window responsive to a request from a client device, the first setof transaction data comprising information identifying a monetary amountof a transaction and an entity at which each transaction occurred for aplurality of transactions that occurred during the first predeterminedtime window; obtaining, by the mapping engine, a set of geographicalcoordinates corresponding to each location of the entity for eachtransaction within the first set of transaction data, wherein at leasttwo transactions of the plurality of transactions occurred, during thefirst predetermined time window, at a same location of a same entitycorresponding to same geographical coordinates; selecting, by themapping engine for the first predetermined time window, an offsettechnique comprising a one dimensional offset or a two dimensionaloffset to prevent obfuscation of icons associated with same locationtransactions within the first predetermined time window; generating, bythe mapping engine using the selected offset technique configured toprevent the obfuscation of icons associated during the firstpredetermined time window, a different offset for each location for eachtransaction of the first set of transaction data; applying, by themapping engine, the different offset to each location for eachtransaction of the first set of transaction data in the firstpredetermined time window; determining, by the mapping engine based on adisplay time interval and a number of transactions in the first set oftransaction data, a display rate for the first predetermined time windowto evenly display the icons of the first predetermined time windowduring the display time interval; splitting, by the mapping engine basedon the display rate, the icons to generate a first time sequenceconfigured to evenly display the icons of the first predetermined timewindow; displaying, by the mapping engine, a digital map on the clientdevice via a web server connection; displaying, by the mapping engine onthe digital map and in the first time sequence corresponding to thefirst predetermined time window, a separate icon split based on thedisplay rate to provide an even display of the icons at each differentoffset location for each transaction within the first set of transactiondata; and displaying, by the mapping engine on the digital map and inone or more time sequences corresponding to one or more predeterminedtime windows subsequent to the first predetermined time window, an iconat each location for each transaction within one or more sets oftransaction data corresponding to the one or more predetermined timewindows.
 2. The method of claim 1, further comprising: polling, by themapping engine, the database responsive to expiration of the firstpredetermined time window; and receiving, by the mapping engineresponsive to the polling, a second set of transaction data within asecond predetermined time window subsequent to the first predeterminedtime window.
 3. The method of claim 1, further comprising: displayingeach icon for a predetermined time period and removing each icon fromthe digital map upon expiration of the predetermined time period.
 4. Themethod of claim 1, wherein the first set of transaction data furthercomprises information identifying the monetary amount of eachtransaction and the entity of each transaction made at a correspondingplurality of point-of-sale devices using funds from one or more flexiblespending accounts.
 5. The method of claim 1, wherein at least twotransactions of the first set of transaction data occurred via a sameentity, the method comprising: obtaining, by the mapping engine,coordinates of a location of the same entity; applying, by the mappingengine, a first offset to the coordinates to generate a first offsetlocation for a first transaction of the at least two transactions;applying, by the mapping engine, a second offset to the coordinates togenerate a second offset location for a second transaction of the atleast two transactions, the second offset location different from thefirst offset location; and displaying, by the mapping engine in thefirst time sequence corresponding to the first predetermined timewindow, a first icon at the first offset location and a second icon atthe second offset location.
 6. The method of claim 1, wherein obtainingeach location of the entity comprises: obtaining coordinates of apredetermined location within a city.
 7. The method of claim 1, whereinthe icon is configured to display, responsive to a trigger event, themonetary amount of the transaction and an identifier of the entity atwhich the transaction occurred.
 8. The method of claim 1, furthercomprising: establishing, by the server, a real-time communication linkwith a second server interfacing with a plurality of point-of-saledevices, the second server configured to receive the first set oftransaction data in real-time from the plurality of point-of-saledevices; receiving, by the server, the first set of transaction dataresponsive to the second server receiving the first set of transactiondata from the plurality of point-of-sale devices; and storing, by theserver, the first set of transaction data in the database.
 9. The methodof claim 1, further comprising: displaying on or adjacent to the digitalmap a running total of the monetary amount of each transaction of thefirst set of transaction data.
 10. The method of claim 1, furthercomprising: receiving, via a configuration screen, a base total monetaryamount and a base total number of transactions; displaying on oradjacent to the digital map a running total of the monetary amount ofeach transaction of the first set of transaction data relative to thebase total amount; and displaying on or adjacent to the digital map atransaction number corresponding to the running total, the transactionnumber relative to the base total number of transactions.
 11. The systemof claim 10, wherein at least two transactions of the first set oftransaction data occurred via a same entity, and wherein the mappingengine is further configured to: obtain coordinates of a location of thesame entity; apply a first offset to the coordinates to generate a firstoffset location for a first transaction of the at least twotransactions; apply a second offset to the coordinates to generate asecond offset location for a second transaction of the at least twotransactions, the second offset location different from the first offsetlocation; and display, in the first time sequence corresponding to thefirst predetermined time window, a first icon at the first offsetlocation and a second icon at the second offset location.
 12. A systemthat provides a geographical ticker of financial transactions, thesystem comprising: a mapping engine executing on a server comprising atleast one processor configured to: receive, from a database, a first setof transaction data within a first predetermined time window responsiveto a request from a client device, the first set of transaction datacomprising information identifying a monetary amount of a transactionand an entity at which each transaction occurred for a plurality oftransactions that occurred during the first predetermined time window;obtain a set of geographical coordinates corresponding to each locationof the entity for each transaction within the first set of transactiondata, wherein at least two transactions of the plurality of transactionsoccurred, during the first predetermined time window, at a same locationof a same entity corresponding to same geographical coordinates; select,for the first predetermined time window, an offset technique comprisinga one dimensional offset or a two dimensional offset to preventobfuscation of icons associated with same location transactions withinthe first predetermined window; generate, using the selected offsettechnique configured to prevent the obfuscation of icons associatedduring the first predetermined time window, a different offset for eachlocation for each transaction of the first set of transaction data;apply the different offset to each location for each transaction of thefirst set of transaction data in the first predetermined time window;determine, based on a display time interval and a number of transactionsin the first set of transaction data, a display rate for the firstpredetermined time window to evenly display the icons of the firstpredetermined time window during the display time interval: split, basedon the display rate, the icons to generate a first time sequenceconfigured to evenly display the icons of the first predetermined timewindow; display a digital map on the client device via a web serverconnection; display, on the digital map and in a first time sequencecorresponding to the first predetermined time window, a separate iconsplit based on the display rate to provide an even display of the iconsat each different offset location for each transaction within the firstset of transaction data; and display, on the digital map and in one ormore time sequences corresponding to one or more predetermined timewindows subsequent to the first predetermined time window, an icon ateach location for each transaction within one or more sets oftransaction data corresponding to the one or more predetermined timewindows.
 13. The system of claim 12, wherein the mapping engine isfurther configured to: poll the database responsive to the firstpredetermined time window ending; and receive, responsive to thepolling, a second set of transaction data within a second predeterminedtime window subsequent to the first predetermined time window.
 14. Thesystem of claim 12, wherein the mapping engine is further configured to:display each icon for a predetermined time period and remove each iconfrom the digital map upon expiration of the predetermined time period.15. The system of claim 12, wherein the first set of transaction datafurther comprises information identifying the monetary amount of eachtransaction and the entity of each transaction made at a correspondingplurality of point-of-sale devices using funds from one or more flexiblespending accounts.
 16. The system of claim 12, wherein the server isfurther configured to: establish a real-time communication link with asecond server interfacing with a plurality of point-of-sale devices, thesecond server configured to receive the first set of transaction data inreal-time from the plurality of point-of-sale devices; receive the firstset of transaction data responsive to the second server receiving thefirst set of transaction data from the plurality of point-of-saledevices; and store the first set of transaction data in the database.17. The system of claim 12, wherein the mapping engine is furtherconfigured to: display on or adjacent to the digital map a running totalof the monetary amount of each transaction of the first set oftransaction data.
 18. The system of claim 12, wherein the server isfurther configured to: receive, via a configuration screen, a base totalmonetary amount and a base total number of transactions; display on oradjacent to the digital map a running total of the monetary amount ofeach transaction of the first set of transaction data relative to thebase total amount; and display on or adjacent to the digital map atransaction number corresponding to the running total, the transactionnumber relative to the base total number of transactions.